Words about farmers markets, gardening, place, and whatever else seems relevant to my little life now being lived in the metropolis of Tokyo.

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Potato Harvest

Andes Red harvest underway.

I still suffer from what I like to call seasonal jet lag. Potatoes are, to my Midwestern mind, an autumn vegetable grown primarily to be stored up for the winter months and turned into any number of delightful dishes.

However, in my part of Japan, potatoes are a summer crop. They are planted in February (seriously) and grown until sometime around now. Harvest dates vary by variety, but basically all potatoes in this neck of the woods are out of the ground by now.

Bergamot in bloom.

It's still totally crazy to me, but somehow I struggle through and start making Maan's Potato Salad.

Those pictured above are a variety called Andes Red. They have a lovely red skin and yellow flesh. Andes Red breaks down into a creamy soup, but it also holds it together nicely for a chunky potato salad, too. These were grown from purchased seed potatoes. Those I'd saved to grow on last year...didn't. I was disappointed, but I forged on to the local nursery and once again struggled through. (I really love that potato salad.)

My guess is that I harvested about seven to eight kilograms of potatoes that afternoon, and they are beautiful. My only wish, of course, is that I'd planted more. (Did I mention how much I love that potato salad?)